My Tablet Transition – Nookcolor/Android 2.3 Pt1

My first thoughts last year after seeing the initial issues with the iPad, were to wait for a functional Android Device. Since I am an Adobe oriented ID, the non-flash issue was a show stopper for me personally. At the same time I wanted to see how bit the iPad/Tablet market would be before I jumped in.

Well clearly, the iPad was the early winner with over 20Meg systems sold to date. After some research, I decided to wait until a national firm with a support system made an Android tablet that I could work with and more importantly that had a good price point. 😉

Four months ago, I jumped in and purchased a NookColor from my local B&N store. The system was a good reader out of the box with easy to configure reading options and a nice reading experience. Now I began to read, not scan, more seriously collecting several NookBooks I needed for my eBook project. I could not imagine going back to paper books and the reading experience with the ability to highlight, bookmark and share is a quantum leap for authors doing research.

Shortly thereafter B&N upgraded the firmware but the lack of access to the Android Market proved to be a pain in the butt, lol. I have discovered that some of my fav Android apps like BBC news and Astrid task manager work better on a larger screen format. That combined with my fat fingers made me yearn for my NookColor to become a fully functional Android tablet running Fryo (v 2.3)

Enter the Cyanogen Mod7 folks who have made some cool bootable SD cards for the NookColor. I purchased one from Amazon for less than $30 and installed it over the weekend with no problems. Since the system boots off the SD card, my warranty is intact. Now my NookColor is a real tablet that fully supports both my reading and research activities.

Changing my workflow

For years I have developed applications and eLearning modules from my desktop systems or a company laptop at a job site. During development, with all the desktop enhancements of Tweetdeck, multiple email accounts, tabbed browsing, my attention sometimes got distracted. I could turn off the Tweetdeck & email notifications, but after years of web surfing and scanning text, I found that it became hard to concentrate, particularly when I needed to mull things over while thinking them through. I had developed a multi-tasking desktop style that interfered with my content creation work.

Enter the NookColor. I have been able to read and analyze material more effectively ever since I bought my tablet. Sitting in my recliner allows me to read in think in a more relaxed space. Now I have full Android functionality with my research tools like Evernote & native Twitter client. I can check email, news and even tweet when needed.

But working on a Tablet feels different. The virtual KB slows down my typing meaning I don’t spend much time writing emails or tweeting there. I make and review notes and update my schedules and plans but still use the tablet mainly to consume content.